AJ got the Fina1 Je0pardy question yesterday. Because we�re total geeks, we tend to watch at least the last half of Je0pardy as a family several afternoons a week, my husband and I competitively shouting out the answers. Yesterday, though, Fina1 Je0pardy was all AJ�s: the category was The Solar System. He was very excited when he saw the category and could hardly wait through the commercials for the question to be announced. When the question finally came on the screen, it was a tough one: Which two planets have an atmosphere made up primarily of Carbon dioxide? He thought for a minute and said slowly, �Mars and��Venus?� He was right, of course. He was a little uncertain about Venus because he knew (thanks to The Magic Schoolbus computer game that he�s been playing all week) that Venus�s atmosphere also had a lot of sulfuric acid.

But AJ was not happy. After the show was over, he started to cry. It turned out that he thought he was going to get a whole series of Solar System questions and was truly disappointed that he did not. So we had to play Solar System quiz to get him back in a good humor. This game gets ever harder as he seems to know more and more and I seem to know less and less. I am repeatedly criticized with the rolling of eyes and, �Mommy, that�s too easy! Give me a harder one.� Oy.

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This morning I took AJ with me to the Vampire office where they sucked me dry (three vials of blood and a cup o� pee). Afterwards we went to the Starbux in our favorite supermarket to replenish the lost fluids (oh coffee, sweet elixir of life!). AJ had a hot chocolate and we played I-spy while we drank. It turned out that our high profile state senator was to be paying a visit to the store later that morning. His aides were setting up a table with red white and blue carnations and balloons and assorted pamphlets. We watched the activity in fascination. After a while an elderly man at the next table, who seemed known by all who worked there, struck up a conversation.

�How old is he?� he asked, nodding at AJ.
�He�s four,� I replied.
�Is he your only one?� I�m getting used to this question from total strangers.
�Yes.�
�Well, it�s time to get to work on some more.� I will never get used to this kind of comment from strangers, yet it happens all the time. I took my usual tack � laughed it off.

The man seemed to think that was an opening. He started asking about whether AJ was going to school next year and what district we were in and then went off on school tax referenda. Now I will say that our taxes are insanely high here. My parents� house is worth at least four times what our is and they pay about 1/4 the taxes we do. I know that a lot of this is schools � there are no schools in my parents� town (it�s primarily a vacation community � the year-rounders are mostly retired. Anyone who could afford a home there would send their kids to private school anyway, because the public schools are terrible). He then launched into how the problem with our taxes was that �35% of the students are from families that aren�t American.�

Uh-oh.

I�ve heard this story before. My great uncle, a retired career Naval officer who lives in the southwest goes off on the way the immigrants are draining our country of its resources and preventing us from having as many children as we want and living the way we want to. If he were younger, he�d probably be one of those self-appointed militia men patrolling the border. But I digress.

My response to this diatribe against the immigrants stealing our country was to nod, smile and get out as fast as possible. I was not happy with that response. I should have disagreed politely � I don�t want AJ thinking I agree with those statements. Although I�m pretty sure AJ wasn�t paying attention. He was more focused on getting me back into our game of I-Spy. At the same time, I don�t especially want to engage elderly strangers in what is sure to be a pointless, irresolvable argument. No matter what I had done, I would have ended up feeling lousy afterwards.

Fortunately, the father of AJ�s friend N appeared, so I was able to extricate myself from the conversation. Afterwards I took AJ over to the Obama table where he got a civics lesson from two of his aides, who explained what a senator does. I was glad they were there. Sometimes I feel like the only democrat in this county.

We didn�t end up staying to see Obama. His under-five constituency was much more interested in getting home to play with his toy school bus than hanging around to hear what he had to say about school reform. But I hope our fellow coffee-drinker stuck around to hear what Obama had to say.

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